About

— On the work of Domas van Wijk

''The piano Doesn't murder the player, if it doesn’t like the music'' 'Westworld quote S01E09 Dr. Robert Ford'

The work by Domas van Wijk is haunted by the ghosts of previous states. Or, in other words, the work is inhabited by different sources, references and material remnants one may be inclined to ascribe to bygone eras. Here it may be misleading to think that van Wijk is driven by sentiment and nostalgia, since his works does not seem to serve as an ode to popular culture and (art) historical examples, but find there inscription in a more open, loose and associative manner. That is to say, in his work one may observe the gradual loss of the objective and the documentary, to its recovery in the key of fiction and storytelling. Upon disclosure, his works manifest as sculptural installations consisting of different interlinking parts. Here it could be said that Domas van Wijk is simultaneously embodying the roles of being an artist and the figure of a trickster, creating layers and webs of different interlinking meanings and connections. He instigates synchronicity and proximity between parallel universes; based on chance he joins different worlds, bringing them together in sculptural assemblages in which animism serves to prioritize the medium as the message and the message as the medium in equal fashion.